“Usless fool.”
As Salia stared into the water mirror with a look of anguish, the unpleasant voice brushed against her ears.
The Seer watched as he sat across from her, his expression was that of open disgust.
It was sheer revulsion.
“I had believed that he would be able to master that dark passion within him. But it seems I was wrong.”
“Seer. What are you talking about?”
“Be quiet. I am just now feeling the shame of my own misjudgment.”
But in spite of his words, he still looked arrogant as ever. He cast a cold glance towards the Hero, who had collapsed and was still screaming. And then he spoke to the empty air.
“Yesta.”
“Yes.”
“I want the divine rule revoked and refunded.”
The Goddess of Time, who now stood expressionless next to the Seer, raised her staff as if to prompt him to continue.
“Relinquish the divine rule, Save and Reset, and refund the stars that were wagered on them.”
“If you surrender that divine rule, the value will be reduced. Are you certain that you wish to proceed?”
“As long as I can recover Glousa and Melandia, it is fine. If there is anything left, withdraw the Eyes that are scattered across the world and preserve as many stars as possible. Also…”
“What do you think you are doing!?”
Of course, the meaning of his actions was obvious to anyone who was watching.
Still, Salia could not help herself from asking.
“Your Hero is still down there! You are the god who is supposed to be watching over him!”
“There is no value in protecting something so worthless. Besides, you were the one who wished for the removal of that divine rule. And so I don’t see why you are objecting now.”
Like a child who had grown bored of a toy, the Seer’s eyes had lost interest in everything around him.
“The most important thing in war is to know when to advance and when to withdraw. That boy no longer has a chance of victory.”
“Bu-but…still…!”
“Saliashe. Are you misunderstanding something?”
He spoke as if explaining a lesson to a student who was slow to learn.
“This is a game, a gamble. One follows the path of the pieces that have been cast, reads the cards clenched in an opponent’s hand, or places wagers on the most promising piece. That is all. It would be absurd to allow the emotions of individuals to get mixed up in it.”
“So…I was not wrong…after all…!”
Salia clenched her fists and shouted as she rose to her feet.
“You stake lives as gambling chips, drive children to work in your contests, even when they do not understand the principals. And when they are no longer useful to you, they are cast aside like trash! The divine rule was not meant for such a thing!”
“You can say what you like. Not a single one of the Pillars would support such naive nonsense.”
He said as he waved his hand at her dismissively.
“Then I shall proceed with the refund of all the Eyes, including the hundred sent to the Central Continent and the twenty-seven in Morania, as well as the Save and Reset blessing.”
With a grinding, creaking sound, the hands of the clock-staff began to spin backward.
And then, with a sharp click, there was the sensation of something being lost.
“Yasuharu.”
The Seer’s voice fell upon the Hero, who had finally stopped shaking.
“Just now, I revoked the power of Save and Reset. You should be happy. No one can mock you for being a poor player of shogi now.”
The boy did not reply.
His soul looked completely burned away, as though nothing remained but an empty shell.